Most of us are using email the wrong way. And a lot of the time, we shouldn’t even be using email in the first place to get our message across. In my last blog post on owning your inbox, I walked through the emerging modes of communication that can be more appropriate than email and cause less stress, such as instant messaging, BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), third-party apps, or even simply using the phone. Reducing email pile-up by using one of the many alternative methods of communication is a great step towards using technology effectively. The results are reduced stress, increased speed of communication and response, a more organized approach, and a lighter load on the mail servers.

This time, I’m going to focus on email itself. Let’s face it: Email is inescapable even if we do use other modes of communication. What’s important is using it effectively to handle what’s being thrown at you. Judging by a recent Twitter® poll from @BlackBerry4Biz, some of you deal with a lot of email in a day. Let’s look at ways that you can manage it more effectively using your BlackBerry® smartphone.

Those who know me well (or even a little for that matter) know that I’m head over heels in love with BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™). You also know that I’m a pretty big baseball fan. Well, put those things together and you get the inspiration for this week’s Top 3 Tuesday: Top Three Uses for BBM Groups. You might be asking yourself, what does baseball have to do BBM Groups? The answer might surprise you:

1. Coordinating groups of people. BBM Groups is possibly one of the best ways to get a group of people together in one place, without physically meeting. With the ability to chat in real time with your selected group, it’s simple and fun way to connect. You can also share calendars, lists and even photos. For me, the ability to create lists is among the best features because you can assign a task to a group member and track completion. Planning a party? Assign someone to bring the balloons, or the cake. Working on a project? Assign the completion of needed documents and track everything in the group calendar. Getting people together using BBM Groups couldn’t be easier.

2. Sharing the moment. Have something that you want to share with a group of your BBM contacts, but not the whole list? Creating a BBM Group is a great way to do this. One of the best examples I’ve come across is a friend who used a BBM Group to keep us all up to date on their pregnancy. They made the announcement in the chat, then added the due date to the calendar, and finally shared pictures of the baby – all within the group. (It was a girl – congrats!)

3. Clubs and Teams. I’ve been playing recreational baseball this summer, and we use BBM Groups as our main hub for the team. At the beginning of the season, we added all our games to the group calendar so nobody would forget. We share photos and memes for inspiration on game day, and use the chat all week long to coordinate impromptu practices and make carpooling arrangements to the diamond. We even use the list function to keep track of who’s on sunflower seed duty and make changes to the batting order. Now, we can focus on swinging for the fences.

If you haven’t already explored BBM Groups, you might find that it can be used as your personal coordinator. Do you have an interesting way you use a BBM Group in BlackBerry Messenger? Be sure to tell us all about it in the comments.